The thing about shoes is that sometimes you love a certain pair too much to throw it out. But, wearing worn out shoes can have terrible consequences for your feet; enter Apple’s patent for smart shoes.

This futuristic idea monitors the use of the shoe and lets the user know whether or not he/she should be changing their shoe. Now, while this is a simple concept and most people are thinking that this is a silly patent – it’s really not.

The smart shoe would have shoe sensors placed in a built-in thin layer or located in the heel. It would include a processor that measures the use of the shoes and determines whether or not it is worn out. From there, it would sound an alarm to inform the wearer of its lack of protection for the foot. There is also talk that the sensor could connect to an external display, which could be used to connect to your iOS device.

But why would Apple even bother putting themselves into the shoe game? With the Nike+ implementation, Apple is just rolling with the times. The company is slowly integrating itself into a lifestyle commodity and we’re not just talking about your iPhone here. With the idea to patent smart shoes, this could really create a new wave of fashion meets technology. It simplifies the idea of changing shoes based solely on necessity and as shoe-obsessed as the next blog, we’re loving the idea.